Farrukhzad, Farrūkhzādag, Yazdegerd, Yazdgerd, Yazdgird?

Beta Readers & a Polling Update

No, Bagheera didn’t type that.

And no, I haven’t lost my mind. Yet.

I’m 80% through the Beta Readers’ draft of my Work in Progress and having to finally decide on the “style” (form and spelling, etc.) of many names and places.

A Make-You-Cross-Eyed Example:

I’m calling the Sasanian Dynasty “Persians”: because it’s one less thing for my readers to make sense of, because of the long history between Persia and Rome (pre-Sasan), because I’m using “Saracens” for the early Muslim invaders, because they didn’t call themselves Muslims just yet. I am weaving “Muslims” into the text a bit later to help keep them separate from the majority Christian Arab populations. (My usage is still a bit anachronistic but only by decades, not centuries.)

Saracens and Sasanians… That would be asking too much.

For the historical Sasanian/Persian characters, I’ve decided on their Middle Persian transliterations, rather than the New Persian…

Mercy!

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Beta Readers:

If you volunteered as a Beta Reader, you’ll hear from me soon. I aim to have the manuscript ready for you shortly after July 4^th. I’ll need your feedback within about six weeks from when I deliver it to you—I have a copyediting deadline I need to meet and must address your input first.

You’ll have direction from me and plenty of opportunities to clarify and ask questions.

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POLLING RESULTS:

The question was: Should I combine visual art with this historical fiction newsletter? Or start a separate publication?

Results:

• Combine = 80%

• Keep them separate = 20%

As commenters noted, I will create a “Section” within the newsletter/website for the art news and let subscribers know how to pick and choose.

I don’t anticipate the art being more than 20-25% of the posts. In the long term, I will probably develop a separate web presence for the art.

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That’s all for now. Sorry—rushed. I’m keeping the novel front and center.

EVERYTHING else is currently neglected.

Once the Beta Readers have it, I’m taking a break to catch up here and start the really fun stuff like revamping websites, planning the publishing process, etc. I have great resources for all of that, but implementing will still be a brutal learning curve.

I am terrified and thrilled to think people will finally read this story!

—Lausanne